WATER DANCE
by Luminous Blue
Summary: A collection of Xianghua-centric one-shots. Spoilers range from mild to heavy. Rating might change, but content will stay worksafe.
1. 01:00

_**WATER DANCE**_

01:00 (Focus is on wholeness of self and the banishing of any shadows.)

Disclaimer: The game series _Soulcalibur_ and the character Chai Xianghua belong to NAMCO and any other copyright holders of the franchise. You all got lucky I don't own the game series anyhow, because Xianghua would have been made god tier in my hands.

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Author's Notes: This is the first one-shot for my fic challenge at 24hour-themes (LJ). If all goes well, I'll have twenty-four Xianghua-centric one-shots for everyone's reading pleasure (?). Well, I certainly hope you find _some_ remote amusement here.

The story itself takes place during Xianghua's pre-SCIII story. I welcome comments and any feedback. Flames will be consumed with tea and biscuits.

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"Hiyaaa—!"

Delivering a swift horizontal slash in the air, Xianghua loosened her grip on her sword, mentally noting this moment as her 'break.' As she lifted her head upwards to see the cloud-veiled moon, the Chinese swordswoman could not help but feel lost and helpless. The gentle wind may have successfully eased her physiological state, but her internal conflicts refused to disintegrate. Even after taking a deep breath, she still had to fight the tears that wished to come out of her eyes.

_In the end, I couldn't do a single thing._

The memory of the scythe-wielder continued to haunt her nonstop. The man did more than just brutally injure Kilik – he made her nothing but a useless spectator. All she could do was watch the man beat her partner up like a child would to a rag doll. Not even her seemingly polished skills stood a chance against him. She could not even land a small scratch to the man. In the aftermath of the fight, she was only able to carry a beaten-up Kilik to the Edge Master's home, where he could recover from his wounds.

_Why? Why am I incapable of doing anything right?!_

She flung her sword meters away from her, clutching her bare hands as tight as possible. Despite being an accomplished fighter, she could not help but constantly ask herself this question. The training with old general was greatly sharpening her swordplay abilities, yet these bitter feelings continued to linger on.

During most of her nights, she would drown herself in deep thought to fall asleep. Her dreams were either manifestations of her fears or remnants of her past, some of which she quickly forgot when dawn arrived.

Sometimes, Xianghua was not very lucky. Hours would pass before she acknowledged her case of insomnia. No book or mental diversion would ease this ailment – she needed physical exertion to cool the flames in her mind. Thus, she utilized the unsung part of the day for additional training in the garden her current mentor maintained.

"It must be past midnight now," Xianghua softly mused.

A short chuckle escaped from her mouth. The thought of the early hours reminded her of the times when she was under her mother's wing. As much as she loved her, Xianghua's mother was a strict teacher. Swordplay training occupied most of their days, beginning as early as one in the morning. Back in those days, Xianghua would lament and wish nothing but the warm comfort of slumber. On days she was not graced with luck, her mother scolded her as if she had done something immoral. Several beatings later, she would wordlessly comply.

However, some days were better than others. On such days, the mother and daughter maintained healthy conversations with each other. Sometimes, they rambled about irrelevant things, such as upcoming holidays, pending news around the country, and their life in general. During the bleaker moments in Xianghua's life, her mother would share her words of wisdom. Funny enough, her mood would immediately skyrocket, leaving her pumped up to tackle any obstacle. For instance, her mother once spoke of her beliefs of the harsh days, and the young girl took the words to heart and swore to earnestly follow them.

_'Sometimes, negativity – such as the sense of incapability – will dominate and even distract you from walking your set path in life. However, you must always concentrate on perfecting oneself. In turn, the shadows that bind you from your success will disappear, and you will grow stronger and create harmony between the body and soul. This is why one must consistently train. You must never let anything get in the way of your chosen path, my child.'_

"Mother…" Xianghua whispered, moving her eyes to her blue sandals. A single tear hesitantly ran down her face, but she swiftly wiped it with her wrist.

"You are still watching over me, right?"

Her meek words contrasted with the confidence that her face showed. Shortly after inhaling the lukewarm air around her, Xianghua rushed over to her sword and firmly gripped its hilt. She then began a series of relatively easy warm-up exercises, ending the break she initially started.

The fighter may have continued her typical routine, but something was quite different now. Her typical aggressiveness to fight more effectively became a part of her past. Instead, her dance-like movements were fluid like flowing water, her focus solely on improving her own sense of self.

Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes soon accumulated into hours. As the sun rose up from the horizon, the warrior banished the shadows that once followed her, taking the first step to the future that awaited her arrival.


	2. 02:00

_**WATER DANCE**_

02:00 (Ridding partnerships or relationships of negativity.)

Disclaimer: I do not own _Soulcalibur _and the characters Kilik, Inferno, and Xianghua. Heck, I don't even own SCIV.

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Author's Notes: This story was a bit of a pain. I intended to write an action-packed match between Xianghua and Inferno (broken wrists and gore included), but that idea did not last very long. Instead, I present some Xianghua-Kilik 'interaction' with a very brief Inferno moment. Although the cutscenes seemed to take place during the day, I coincidentally beat Arcade mode around 2:00AM. Plus, it sort of works with the theme. All-in-all, I like some parts and dislike others.

If it weren't obvious already, this story takes place in SCII's Arcade mode, between Xianghua's destined and final battles. As always, feedback is great. Just keep the flames for the firefighters.

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Ostrheinsburg Chapel was not a pleasant place. Not after the powerful clash between the Soul Calibur and Soul Edge long ago, that is. Although it retained a relatively pristine appearance, no traces of liveliness were present, other than the two individuals conveniently below the mighty chapel bells.

Xianghua carefully inspected her fallen opponent. He did not experience blood loss, but he was certainly unconscious for a reason. Besides his hands no longer bearing his bo staff, the man's abdomen was red from the kicks she delivered, and his clothing had a few holes from her sword's slashes. Quickly glancing at the functioning clock above, she comprehended the time to be two in the morning, a time not ideal for fulfilling one's duty or crushing an ally.

Although she was sure she did not fatally injure him, Xianghua felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. Looking at such a kind man in this sort of state was a hard fact to swallow. She wholeheartedly tried to avoid the entire situation, but this person gave her no choice. And since both of them were stubborn about their beliefs, one was destined to withdraw.

"I'm sorry, Kilik." the petite swordswoman apologized softly, consequentially kneeling down to his body. A soft groan came from the person, but it was unlikely he could maintain a proper conversation.

"But what you were trying to do is too dangerous!" she continued as she weakly shook her head. She then stood up on her feet, maintaining a troubled frown at her fallen friend.

Kilik gave her no response, but she knew he would have continued his protests. After all, he was a peacemaker. He successful stopped many warriors, including Maxi, from pursuing the two swords. Only a few people required some _extra _persuasion, usually in the form of violence.

Even then, Kilik made it a priority to prevent anyone from bearing the burden of such great powers, no matter how 'good' or 'bad' they were. Xianghua both admired and disliked this trait. She truly appreciated Kilik's concern about her safety, yet his persistence on stopping her became somewhat tedious. She once spent an entire afternoon voicing out her agenda, hoping he would at least acknowledge her stance. Unfortunately, her yearnings could only stay in her mind.

Her mother's last words – the words telling her she was born to complete an important task – slowly led Xianghua to the quest of fighting the "Hero's Sword," Soul Edge. She used an incarnation of her mother's keepsake, which was no other than the holy Soul Calibur, to overcome the great evil. She may have lost her precious sword and prestige in the emperor's mind, but she never harbored any deep regrets.

Of course, this was a fact in the past. After recently learning that the evil blade still existed, Xianghua realized her bond with this negative entity lingered on. Somewhere, the vile soul lived on, perhaps laughing off the wounds she once gave it. Conquering over the great evil in the world was a goal of Xianghua's. Simultaneously, she possessed a personal bond with both the Soul Calibur and Soul Edge, where she intended to keep one and break the other.

"That is why I'm doing this." Xianghua reassured herself aloud. "I simply can't let this pass by me!"

Before she could lapse into more thought, a sudden flash of light temporarily blinded her. Xianghua cringed as her eyes recovered, only to find herself transported to a barren, hell-like world. The atmosphere was a dark crimson, hellfire consuming most of the land. The ground a slightly lighter variant of the sky's shade, and the air around her was far from welcoming.

_'You…!'_ she mentally glowered, tilting her her head upward.

Floating above the swordswoman was a familiar entity. The creature's skeleton-framed body was surrounded in flames; it possessed no humanistic traits outside of its basic structure. Upon sensing her presence, the being scowled in an animal-like way, showing it had no intention of making peace. To further reinforce its hostility, it generated the cursed blade from its chest and held it proudly in its hands.

"I'll get you this time!" Xianghua shouted as she quickly took a fighting stance. Her nemesis transformed the blade into a weapon similar to hers, mimicking her own fighting style.

In an instant, the clashing of steel resonated around the two combatants, blood and flames playfully dancing around them. Fate had yet to decide the victor of this fight; however, fate knew the bitter bond between the two souls was to vanquish for an eternity.


End file.
